The ancient art of tea
by Hydrobius
Summary: It's a simple task: you just need to add hot water into a tea-cup with the right combination of ingredients.
1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy Sunday, one of those days everyone likes to oversleep a bit. She had woken up a few minutes before, but the warmth of the body beside her and the raindrops noise were way too relaxing to move. Everybody knows that Raven likes – and needs – to meditate, however just her closest ones know she has other ways to keep herself calm and in control of her powers. Being honest, since she met her boyfriend the "Sunday morning moment" has been a constant method to make her emotions steady. At the beginning they met in her favorite café to talk about simple things, like books or her recent mission, while drinking warm beverages. His cocky comments often made her a bit angry, but after a few moments of him begging her pardon, she would forgive him. The topics were becoming more complexes and intimates as he was conquering her trust. He didn't know why, but as the weeks were passing, he was getting more and more attached to the purple haired woman. And, as a good empath, she has felt his caring feelings, which has made her like the man even more.

"Are you already awake, little bird?" said the body beside her with a sleepy tone. Deep in her memories, Raven didn't notice her lover's movements or his constant stare for at least five minutes. Opening a single eye, she saw his dizzy blue eyes looking to her, desiring something. She knew that look quite well - it was because of that burning gaze she was now naked in his bed, covered only in his black sheets.

"No, I'm not." She replied with a playful tone, the one she saves only for their secluded moments.

"That's a shame! I wanted to spend a few moments with my girlfriend, but since she doesn't want me, I'll go call a friend, a really pretty one. Maybe she would like my attention." He replied, laziness evident in his voice.

"Are you serious? Maybe next time I can invite Robin and we can go eat together!" She replied, giggling a bit. The empath have learned how to deal with the thief's teasing, as after a week dating he confessed he loves when she's jealous. Payback is a bitch, as they say.

"What a way to ruin _the mood,_ Rae…" groaned the man. "Although I have to admit it would be funny Bird Brain and I eating together. I bet he uses his traffic light costume even in the morning!"

"Actually, he does. It's a painful thing to see after a good night of sleeping. Stop talking about my leader, though." With a soft movement, she flipped to her side, throwing her leg above his, bringing him closer. Feeling her cold skin so close was a torture for him. With a sexy moan, he put one of his hands on her thigh, while his free arm tried to circle her waist. Flipping her with a fast movement, he made her lay straight him, not bothering the extra weight. His hands, now in her shoulder blades, were making pressure, bringing them impossible closer.

"Wasn't you out of _mood_?" she tried to continue their playful argument, but he brought his mouth to her neck, biting her pulse, where he had already left a mark. "X, oh god!"

"Haven't I told you my name?" He replied, after retrieving his mouth. However, he didn't give her time enough to reply, kissing her deeply.

And they kept their game for a while, talking sweet nothings and making their own song, soothed by the rain.

* * *

After a couple of hours, they finally made to the kitchen. Raven, wearing only her underwear with one of X's black shirts, with a few buttons undone, was in front of the stove, putting some water to boil. One of the initial things her boyfriend has done to make her feel comfortable in his home – even though he likes to say it's theirs, the empath always emphasizes it's only his – was buying innumerous types of tea. The morning after the first night she slept there, the purple haired girl was really glad he remembered she drinks her hot beverage every day. Her first days at the T-tower were quite chaotic because the team – mainly Beast Boy – kept insisting she needed to eat breakfast, even after she explained she only wants her tea and tranquility, of course.

Although Red X had accepted her habits better than the titans, he has decided to make her tea time a living hell. Every single morning she spends in his house, he keeps bothering her, curious of what mix of herbs she uses, what is the ideal temperature to infuse them, and other specific questions about the ancient art of preparing tea. During the first times, Raven tried to explain that doesn't have a unique blend of herbs, that the only thing that matters is to harmonize them, but her boyfriend kept insisting she was hiding the secret. She only hasn't sent him to another dimension because she would miss him too much. And, in the deep of her mind, she knew he was only trying to be sweet, even though that posture was scaring coming from him.

This day would be no different. As soon as she turned on the stove he appeared behind her, wearing only red sweatpants, his short black hair like a mess and his adorable blue eyes alert.

"Are you gonna teach me today?" he asked with hope, his hands massaging her shoulders.

"I've already taught you, X." She replied, not taking her eyes away from the water. It's a weird act, but he had already got used to her need to watch the teapot constantly.

"Why can't you use my real name? It's so frustrating you keep calling me X."

"You've told me I could call you X. I've met you as Red X, and I've fell in love with you this way. It's symbolic." She replied using her characteristic monotone voice, which is another thing he's got used. It's one of the details that make _his_ Raven.

"I know, Little Bird, but it would be nice if I could see those pretty lips of you whispering my name. And you calling me X keeps remind me you have to hide our relationship from everybody."

After that comment, the amethyst features girl blushed, remembering what they were doing a few moments ago. Trying to calm herself down, to not show her boyfriend her blush, she focused more deeply into the fire. After a few seconds, her mind made a bizarre idea to kill two ducks at once.

"Let's make a deal, X. If you made a good tea, with a nice blend of herbs, without burning them, I'll call you for your name a whole day," and, setting Lust free for just a few seconds, she whispered sensually in his ear " in any way you want me to." After that, she caught his ear lobe with her teeth, biting softly. He groaned, feeling his body already reacting with her simple teasing. However, there were more important things at the table, and he would have a really nice payment if he plays the right cards.

"Ok, Sunshine, this bet looks a little unbalanced. Tell to me what will happen to my gorgeous body if I lost – which I highly doubt will happen. I know there's a trick here."

Raven simply grinned. This will be an interesting gamble.

* * *

_Hello, guys ^_^ This is my first attempt to write a fanfiction. I'm not sure if I'm prepared to this life due my terrible english. I hope you have fun reading this small fic - I think there will be just two more chapters -, even though all the OOC issues._


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh… The invincible and hottest villain in Jump City is scared of a simple bet with his girlfriend? What a shame! And here I was thinking you were so brave!" Raven taunted, knowing his hot temper will bite the hook. And the pissed look on his face was the confirmation she needed.

"Of course I am not! I'm the best, and we both know that." the tantrum in flesh replied, making an annoyed face "It's just… you're so sadistic! I can let you call me X, that's fine by me. But there's no way in hell I'm going to do the second part."

"If you aren't going to lose, why are you so scared? Think about the… _benefits_ you'll have if you win." She said the last part emphasizing every single word, making sure he would notice her lips moving and that teasing look on her face. He was in her hands, and she knew it.

"When I win, I'll make sure to teach you how to behave properly, Sunshine. But you could, at least, teach me how to do that tea thing!" He threw his arms into the air, trying to make her understand his frustration.

"I've already taught you, X, more than once. You're simply too eager and irascible to learn. Listen to me when I say your quarrelsome acts will be the death of you." She calmly said, preparing herself to leave her boyfriend alone in the kitchen.

"You haven't taught me! Telling me that story about _blending the right ingredients_ it's not a very good lesson, you know."

"Aren't you the best? So, it's time to prove that, oh chosen soul! Now, go prepare my tea or I'll consider you quit." And by that, she left the room, teleporting herself to the small library he had built for her.

"I'm doomed." A screwed thief said to the air.

* * *

After fifteen minutes looking to the infinite amount of boxed herbs, he started to think why he had bought so many types. How in the World would he know the right blend? There were some that even looked the same, and all those smells were confounding his nose. Making tea is not a work for a thief, he concluded. However, nothing in this world would make he give up the challenge; his ego wasn't ready for that. And thinking about what would happen if he lost… Well, X had **all** reasons in the cosmos to keep going.

Turning off the stove, as there weren't much water boiling left, he decided to spend a few more moments looking to the annoying plant parts in front of him. Bringing every single box to the counter, he leaned in and started to blink, without focus in any of the small things, as if he was waiting for an epiphany. Since none came, he started to grumble incoherent words about cruel girlfriends.

After five minutes of tantrum, he finally discovered, almost throwing a recipient on the wall, that the small things have a proportional-sized label. Who was the mean creature that wrote the name of those damned plants in a tag smaller than an ant? Really pissed off, he grabbed a paper and a pen, and started to write all the names in a list, although after the third name he concluded that wouldn't help much. Why did God decide to create a rainbow of tea? Green, yellow, black, red… And there were things there he didn't even know are _plants._ How in the universe would he know that licorice roots tasted so bad, if the same named candy is so delicious?

Unfortunately, having to deal with that terrible flavor in his mouth wasn't the worst part. Exactly the moment he did that genius action, Raven appeared in the kitchen, worry stamped in her face. See his reaction to the taste made her laugh so hard that she could barely keep herself on her feet, though. And, worse than that, she simply got back to the library, not helping her freaked out boyfriend.

Grabbing an apple from the fridge, he finally took that awful taste from his tongue, his blue eyes fitting the _Pandora_ boxes in his counter. Yes, deciding to prove those things was an idiot idea. If Raven hadn't already made himself drink tea, nothing would convince him that strange colored liquid made with evil plants tasted good.

Back to the same position he was before the licorice incident, he put his hands in his hair, messing it even more. He knew that calling someone would be a taint in his profile, but he simply couldn't lost the bet – the consequences of his loss would be a taint in his ego, which is more important than fair play.

In a swift move, he grabbed his cellphone, but after dealing the number of a contact of him – an indian guy who knows everything about jewels he often have to steal, ordered by some weird looking client with nothing better to spend his money and too greedy to give some to charity – the electronic was wrapped in a black bubble.

"No cheating, darling." Raven said in his mind.

"I'm starting to contest why I do love you, Little Bird."

"Stop weeping and start to do my tea, please. I'm starting to have a headache." She whimpered, cutting their psychic conversation X could reply that she wasn't the only one in pain.

Convincing himself that finding the right mix was simpler than he thought, he decided to pick three beautiful named boxes and grab a small amount of their content. Putting more water on the teapot, he mixed all and put it on the stove again.

After 30 minutes, he decided that the tea was ready. The color – a vivid red one – wasn't what he was expecting, but who was he to inquire something? The smell wasn't that good, too, but again he decided to not think much about it. Pouring some of that bizarre mixture in a teacup, he brought it to his Sunshine.

When he appeared in the door, Raven smelled that strange aroma and couldn't conclude what blend his boyfriend had created. It smelled like cinnamon with hibiscus and something else she simply didn't recognized. Even though she was afraid, she wouldn't say that to X, knowing he had put great effort in that liquid. Smiling, she put her book aside and with a hand gesture invited him to join her in the couch. He walked like she was, actually, an executioner waiting to cut his throat. After a thick silence, she decided to end with his torture.

"So, aren't you going to give me my tea? Or are you already quitting?"

"Actually, Sunshine, you'll drink the best beverage of your whole life after a few minutes." Coming close to her ear, he whispered "Are you ready to reward me? Because, after the whole torture you've put me in, I'm gonna take advantage of you until I say stop."

She shivered and arched her body a little, thinking if she really wanted to win that bet. However, after cooling herself down, she remembered what was on game. Amazing sex wasn't going to exceed that.

"Give me my tea, so. Let me taste _the best beverage of my whole life_."

X gave her the teacup, with a smooth smile stamped in his face. He was gonna win, he knew it. Raven grabbed the mixture a bit afraid, and brought it close to her nose to smell it. Consider its aroma strange was euphemism – she could swear she'd caught traces of black pepper and… was it paprika? What had her boyfriend put in this thing?

Now with concrete fear, she brought the suspect substance to her mouth, and with a quick swig she savored _the best beverage of her life_.

Spitting the liquid back into the teacup, she tried to suppress all the noises she wanted to do, but without much success. Never, for the world's sake, she will let her boyfriend alone in the kitchen again.

Meanwhile, X was looking to her with huge hope and expectation. After her reaction, though, he could barely breathe. What had he put himself into?

"Hell, this… thing tastes almost as good as Starfire's puddings! X, _Sunshine_, what did you blend together, exactly?" Raven said with a creepy sweet voice, deadly looking into his eyes.

"I don't know, frankly. I simply grabbed the plants and made the right combination, as you said." After seeing the small fraction of black magic coming from her chakra, he added, "but I think my tea wasn't as good as me…"

"You **think**? I believe your tea is as good as your modesty." she said through her gritted teeth. "Let's go to the kitchen, so you can show me your perfect combination".

'I'm so doomed', he thought.

* * *

"Ok, Sunshine, those are the boxes I chose." He pointed to a pile next to the sink. Raven walked close and picked the boxes, looking to each label.

"Let me see… Hibiscus, black pepper, mustard powder, cinnamon sticks, lemongrass and… paprika. I should write the recipe for Starfire, she surely will love your creation! Hell, X, do you even know that some of your ingredients aren't properly for doing tea?"

"Sunshine, let me tell you a nice story about a handsome thief who fell in love with a hero. When they started dating, the guy went to a really bad and opportunist Chinese grandpa that genuinely took advantage of a lovefool. Apparently he thought it would be a good idea sells every single damn thing-from-the-earth in his shop labeled as tea. The thief, who never cooked in his life, bought everything for his Little bird." X said dramatically, gesticulating.

"X, you shouldn't have done that. I mean, I am really glad you did, but next time let's go together. If I knew you didn't know a thing about cooking, I would have asked myself why there was mustard powder between my teas. By the way, I prefer the herbal ones. But you did great for a… beginner." She hugged him, trying to heal his shattered ego.

They stayed together for a while. X pulled her closer and buried his nose in her hair, breathing the scent of her lavender shampoo. Raven rested her head in his chest, savoring the moment of pure love they were having. Sometimes it's hard to believe they have to pass for so much to stay together. There are so many lies they have to tell, one for his clients, other for her team – her family –, that it's hard to count. However, being close to him like this it's the only thing she needs to confirm the strong bond they have, and that she wouldn't trade what they have for nothing.

"So, my Jewel, would you forgive me?" he whispered without removing his face from her hair.

"I never was angry with you, X." smirking, she added "but you still have to do your part of the bet".

Burying himself even deeper in her violet locks, he talked, his voice muffled "I'm really doomed".

* * *

_And that was the second part. Yes, there will be another chapter, and then I'm done. Thanks for reading ^_^_


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